Fox that attacked 5 was rabid, officials confirm

AP , Associated Press

Jul. 31, 20135:32 PM ET

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A fox suspected of attacking five people in South Portland indeed had rabies, officials said Wednesday.

The attacks began Tuesday morning when a man reported that a fox jumped into the cab of his pickup truck and bit him on the arm in a Home Deport parking lot. Authorities believe the fox later attacked a jogger, bit a man and woman who were camping in nearby woods, and chased another man into an office building, where the animal was trapped.

The fox was taken to the Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory, where it tested positive for rabies.

Rabies is a deadly virus that typically spreads when a diseased animal attacks another animal or person.

Because the fox tested positive, the five people who came into contact with the animal will be contacted and told to get an injection of Human Rabies Immune Globulin if they haven't already, said Dr. Stephen Sears, state epidemiologist with the Maine Center for Disease Control.